Incident at Broomville
by KRDAMD5
Summary: Gil, Rowdy and the rest help a young girl out of a situation.
1. Chapter 1

**Incident at Broomville**

Disclaimer: I own nothing but fond memories of the show and Rowdy Yates.

RAWHIDERAWHIDERAWHIDE

Rowdy Yates stood at the bar of the First Class saloon in the waste water town of Broomville and looked appreciatively at the small brunette saloon girl making her way around the bar room. Though he was only supposed to be in town long enough to help Wishbone gather supplies, he didn't figure it would hurt to take a few extra minutes to drink a beer or two.

Wishbone, of course, disagreed until Rowdy offered to buy his beer for him. Wish looked down for a minute and then shrugged. "Guess one beer couldn't hurt." He mumbled.

Grinning, Rowdy slapped him on the shoulder and the two headed to the nearest saloon and ordered beers. "Nice place." Rowdy observed as he and Wishbone took a swallow of their lukewarm beer.

"It is if you like watered down whiskey and stale beer." Wishbone grumbled. Taking another sip of his beer, he wrinkled his brow and sat the half full mug back down on the bar. "Come on, Rowdy, let's go." He urged. "We've got our supplies and Mr. Favor's gonna be lookin' for us to get back before dark. I still have to fix some supper, you know."

As pretty as the brunette was and cool the saloon, Rowdy sighed as he too sat his beer down. Wish was right and he knew it. Besides, the brunette was busy now, he noted, watching her lead a dusty cowboy upstairs. "Alright, let's go."

Rowdy pushed away from the bar and the two men exited the saloon. Wish climbed up into the seat of the wagon as Rowdy claimed his horse and mounted it, leading the way out of town. Neither man noted that the back flap of the wagon was in disarray and not as neatly tied down, as it was when they left it.

Not much was said between the two men as they rode. Not much needed to be said. They'd accomplished the task set before them and if they hurried, they'd make it back to camp before too long, in time for Wish, who with Mushy's help, would prepare dinner for the crew while Rowdy checked in with Mr. Favor. They expected no problems and encountered none, until much later. It was then they encountered a very big problem indeed.

"Mr. Favor." Rowdy nodded at Gil Favor, the trail boss, as he rode up close to him and dismounted.

"Rowdy." Gil returned. "You get everything we needed?"

"Sure did." Rowdy nodded. "I, uh, checked in at the post office like you asked but there wasn't anything there for you."

Gil nodded resignedly. "Well, I didn't really expect anything but I didn't figure it'd hurt to check. We'll be close to Kingston in about a week, we'll check there."

"I hope so." Rowdy agreed. "It'd be nice to know we've got a guaranteed payday when we get to Dodge."

"Yeah, but I'm not too worried." Gil shrugged. "They'll be other brokers there if we can get there early enough."

"Well, that shouldn't be too much of a problem." Rowdy said assuredly. "I can't think of anything that would slow us down."

As he and Gil Favor talked, neither man noticed the back flap of the supply wagon move ever so slightly and one blue eye peer out at the men around the camp.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next two days were full of hard work and little sleep and no surprises. The men moved the herd ever north keeping an eye on the weather and the surrounding terrain. They'd been this way but once before and were unsure of the area. But as nothing had happened so far, no one expected anything to happen.

About the their third night out on this part of the trail, two days north of Broomville, Mushy made a discovery. While Wishbone pulled down the back of the chuck wagon to get supper started, Mushy went for went for firewood. He'd already collected an arm load when he neared the river, they were camped close to, and spotted something lying on some bushes by the water's edge. Taking a step closer, his eyes widened when he realized he was looking at clothing. Women's clothing!

Carefully, Mushy looked around the area before taking another step close to the river and looking out into the water. In the middle of the cool stream, with her back to him, stood a woman, with red hair and… Mushy swallowed hard and unconsciously stepped back, tripping over a log. Completely off balance, he threw his arms forward and consequently the arm load of firewood as he tried to keep from falling. But his efforts were futile and he found himself yelling loudly as he pitched towards the ground.

The resultant clamor caught the attention of not only the young woman in the creek but his boss, Gil Favor as well as he had been heading towards the river to clean up a bit. As Gil neared the river's edge, he saw a red headed naked woman swiftly duck down into water and Mushy lying flat on his face, firewood all around him. "What the…?" Gil looked with irritation at the young man at his feet and alarmed curiosity at the young woman.

Gil took a deep breath. "Mushy? You okay?"

"Uh, yeah." Mushy hastily got to his feet. "Uh, yes, Sir. I'm alright. But there's… there's a…"

"Yeah, I see her." Gil fairly growled. "Hey, you!" Gil made sure the young lady knew he was calling her. "What are you doing here?"

The beautiful young woman took a quick glance around her and looked back at the trail boss. "I'm taking a bath." She called back. "Or at least I was until you two showed up."

"You live around here?" He asked loudly so she could hear him. He knew she didn't live close as there weren't any ranches or farms around that area.

"That's none of your business." She replied, just as loudly. "Now, if you two will just go away, I'll get out and get my clothes and go."

"Where to?" Gil asked with a smirk as she swam a little closer, still making sure to keep well under the water.

"Again, none of your business." She retorted. "Now are you two gonna get out of here or do I start screaming?"

"Go ahead." Gil grinned. "There's nobody but my men for miles around." When the girl's expression, for when she came close, he could tell she was no more than that, changed to one of worry, Gil relented and grabbed Mushy by the arm. "Come on, Mush. Let's get on back to the camp so this young lady can get dressed." When Mushy obediently filed past him, Gil turned to the girl again. "Come on up to the camp when you get dressed. Wish will have some supper ready." He didn't wait for a reply as he turned and left.

The young woman scowled at him and as soon as the men were gone, she moved to the shore, got out and got dressed. She had hoped to remain unseen by the men until they were at least a few more days away from Broomville but when she'd seen the cool water of the river, she just had to have a bath. It'd been days since she'd been able to clean up or even eat a real meal. She'd been existing on a few carrots left in a basket on the supply wagon. She was clean now but she was still hungry. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head at her own folly and followed the path back to the camp.

Her appearance in the circle of firelight caused quite a stir as the cowboys, unused to women in camp, especially ones like this, all turned to stare at her. She wasn't unused to such attention but she really didn't want it. She'd ran away from Broomville in part because she didn't want that kind of attention and she was prepared to run from here, if they tried to make her go back. After she ate, of course.

"Miss." Gil tipped his head to her and then looked over at Wishbone. "Wish, fix the lady a plate."

Wishbone, so entranced by the young woman didn't move at first. But when Mr. Favor yelled again, he swallowed, nodded and quickly moved to do as he was told.

"Have a seat." Gil pointed to a large log that had been rolled up for seating.

The young woman looked at him appraisingly for a moment before finally nodding slightly and taking a careful seat on the wood. "Nice place you got here." She smirked at him. "Can't say much for the furniture though."

"Well, we don't normally expect visitors." Gil answered with a touch of sarcasm before turning serious while Wish brought the girl a plate of food and a cup of coffee. He was going to ask her about herself but he hesitated as he watched her rapidly begin to shove food in her mouth. "Doesn't look like you've had a good meal in a while."

Her hand stopped in mid-air as she started to take a drink of the coffee. "Sorry." She said ruefully. "I… well…"

"Go ahead and finish your meal." Gil told her. "Then you can tell me who you are and where you belong so we can take you back."

Her eyes narrowed at that but she did finish the food before setting the tin plate down and taking another sip of the coffee. "Thank you for the food." She told him as she pushed herself to her feet. "I'd pay you, but I'm broke. So if you'll let me do some chores for my meal, I'll do them and leave."

"Sit down." Gil ordered. "I got someone to do what chores we need around here. What I don't have is any idea as to who you are and where you came from."

"I told you," she said coolly. "That's none of your business. Now if you won't let me do chores for my meal than goodbye." She started to walk away but instantly; Rowdy, Jesus and a couple of others barred her way. "Get out of my way." She demanded.

"Not until you do like Mr. Favor says and tell us what you're doing out here." Rowdy answered. "That country out there ain't no fit place for a girl like you to be wandering around in."

"How do you know what kind of girl I am?" She snapped. "You all don't know me and you never will. So just get out of my way and let me go."

"NO!" Gil spoke up as he moved over to her side. "Until you tell us something that will make me believe you'll be safe out there, you're not going anywhere, if I have to tie you up. You hear me?"

The young woman's big blue eyes turned on Gil and for a moment she was going to argue the point further but something in his expression convinced her it was probably better to back off and give in. After all, she had no place else she really could go. Taking a deep breath, she finally dropped her head and went back to the log and sat down heavily. "I'll tell you." She sighed. "But I'm not going back to Broomville and you won't be able to make me."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"My name is Cat."

"Cat?" Rowdy asked.

"Short for Cathleen." She responded. "Cat's just my nickname."

"Oh." He and the other men nodded.

She looked at the faces surrounding her and saw honest curiosity and concern but no ill intent so felt a little more comfortable. "Until you," she looked at Rowdy, "came into the First Class, I worked there. I was a dealer."

"A dealer?" Wishbone looked unbelievingly at her. "Why, you're no more than a mere girl."

"I may not be as old as you," she arched a brow at him, "but I'm a darn good dealer. I've been around saloons since I was five. My pa left my ma and me when I was a baby and my ma died when I turned five. My pa's sister took me and raised me around the saloon she owned. She taught me how to deal. I know what I'm doing with a deck of cards. And I was making a lot of money for Fred, the owner. But he uh…" She dropped her and a blush crept up her neck to grace her face. "He thought I could make him more."

"More?" Rowdy frowned. "How? Cheating?"

Cat shook her head. "No. He wanted me to… to… well, to go…" She took a deep breath. "To go upstairs with the men who came in there."

"Go up…" Rowdy's eyes widened when he realized what she meant."

"How old are you?" Gil asked.

"Sixteen." She answered. "Fred figured I was old enough to… well, to do that too."

"But you didn't want to." Gil Favor already knew the answer to that and didn't blame her.

"No." She shook her head again. "No, I didn't and I told him that but he… he didn't care what I thought. He said I'd signed a contract and whether I liked it or not, I had to do what he told me to. I was supposed to start the night you come in." She returned her gaze to Rowdy. "I saw that wagon you," she glanced at Wishbone, "were driving so I snuck out and hid in your wagon."

"You what!?" Wish was not too happy to hear that. "How… I mean, I looked in that wagon when we got back to the herd. I never saw you."

"You didn't look right away." She answered. "By the time you did, I'd already slipped out and hid. I got back in the wagon the next morning, just before you all pulled out. I did the same thing yesterday and I was going to do the same today but… Well, your bumbling helper there," she nodded at Mushy, "and you," she looked over at Gil, "found me."

"Well, it's a good thing they did." Wish declared. "You look half starved."

"I've been hungry before." She answered. "And I can handle being hungry again, as long as I don't have to go back to Broomville. If I… do… that, well… Well, I'll decide when. There's no man going to make me."

"You said you signed a contract with this 'Fred'?" Gil asked.

"Yeah." She nodded glumly. "It was the only way he'd let me deal for him. I didn't know when I signed it that he'd added a clause to it saying I'd do whatever he told me do in the saloon. I just thought it was to deal cards. If I had of known…"

"Well, you didn't know." Rowdy spoke up. "But you do now and you don't have to worry. We won't make you go back."

"We won't?" Gil questioned. "Rowdy, we can't have a girl in this camp and besides, she signed a contract. This Fred fella practically owns her."

"No!" Cat got to her feet. "No, he doesn't. I don't care what that paper says, I will not do that. I won't."

"Mr. Favor." Rowdy looked pleadingly at his boss. "We can't take her back there. She's only sixteen."

Gil pursed his lips. Her age made him uneasy as well as what she was probably facing if she went back. But on the same hand, he couldn't drag a girl across the country with them. He wasn't sure what to do.

"Look," Cat got up to her feet. "I'm not going back to that saloon no matter what you say. And if you don't want me here, then fine, I'll go. I'll find something somewhere." She didn't look as confident in that as she sounded. And she didn't sound too confident.

"Mr. Favor, we can't… well, we can't make her go back there and we can't just turn her loose out here. She's not a horse, ya know." Wishbone, for some reason, liked the girl.

"I know she's not a horse." Favor scowled at him. "I also know that I'm boss of this outfit and I say who we take with us and who we don't. Besides, all we have is her word for what's waiting for her back in Broomville. She could be lying, ya know."

"Yeah, but I don't believe she is." Rowdy declared.

"Well, I don't care what…" Before he could finish, Pete came riding up. "Mr. Favor, there's some men riding in. Ain't seen em before, but they look like they mean business."

Cat immediately paled and she looked up imploringly at Gil Favor. "It's Fred." She whispered. "Please, don't make me go with him."

Gil took a breath. "Wish, put her in the back of the supply wagon for now, until we find out who these fellas are."

Cat had no sooner been concealed in the back of the wagon when a group of eight men came riding into the camp. The man in the lead took a long look around the camp before finally looking at Favor and his men. "Which one of you is boss?"

Gil studied the heavyset, bearded character on the horse and took an instant dislike to him from his bald head, busy eyebrows and mustache to the tweed coat and black and white shoes on his feet. "I am." He crossed his arms against his chest with a stony expression. "Something I can do for you?"

"I'm Fred Gates, from Broomville. I own the First Class saloon there and I'm looking for a girl." Gates took another look around, so far seeing nothing.

Favor snickered. "In case you missed it, this is a trail drive. We don't have much need of girls."

"I didn't miss it." Gates snarled. "I also didn't miss the fact that she disappeared about the same time two of your men drove out of town in a wagon. Now, I figure she rode out with your men and I want her back."

"This girl your daughter or something?" Favor was giving nothing away.

"She works for me." Gates answered. "I got a contract on her and she has two years owing on it. Now where is she?"

"Sorry, Mister." Gil shook his head. "But I can't help you. Like I said, this is a trail drive, not a home for runaway whores."

"She ain't a whore." One of the men with gates spoke up. "Least not yet. But she's gonna be as soon as we find her."

"Shut up." Gates snapped at him before looking again at Favor. "My men and me are gonna take this camp apart if you don't tell me where she's at."

Instantly, Rowdy, Quince, Joe and several others pulled their guns and moved closer to Gil Favor. "That wouldn't be too good an idea." Rowdy told him. "You try anything like that and you go out of here upside down."

Gates stared at him owlishly for a moment, sizing him up as well as the rest of the men gathered around their boss. He didn't know the caliber of these men but the knew the men with him and they didn't stack up. Already, he could tell they were ready to bolt.

"Alright." Gates sat back in his saddle. "We'll go. Don't guess you would have a girl along with the likes of you. But if you see her, you send her packing back to Broomville. It'll be better for her and you both, if ya do." With nothing further to Favor and his men, Gates turned his horse and rode off; knowing the men with him would follow.

"Gee." Mushy exclaimed. "Looks like Miss Cat was tellin' the truth."

"Yeah, looks like." Gil agreed unhappily. Despite his belief that they couldn't take a girl with them, he knew for a certainty that they couldn't take her back to Broomville either. "Everybody get back to work. We'll be pulling out at dawn tomorrow."

As Gil's men disbursed, he looked towards the retreating backs of Gates and his men knowing that was not going to be the last time he saw them.

When Gates reached a little knoll above Favor's camp, he stopped, waiting for his men to pull up along side him. "That girl's down there, I know she is." He grumbled.

"Well, what do we do then?" A skinny, awkward young man, who'd spoken up before, asked.

"We follow em." Gates answered. "We stick close as kin."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Three days crawled by as Favor and his men and herd kept moving on. Gil had a sneaking suspicion that Gates hadn't returned to Broomville and he was also certain that the girl, Cat, hadn't told him everything. From what Gates and his man had said, she hadn't been lying about what was waiting for her back in the dreadful little town, but there was something more. He knew it. He just didn't know what.

Cat, for the most part, kept to herself and as hidden as she could be. Gates hadn't fooled her, either. She was sure he was back there, following them. Gates wanted her, for more than the money she could make him on her back. She didn't agree, of course, but Gates felt she owed him and he planned on taking it if she didn't give it.

Cat, sat in the back of the supply wagon during the day thinking of what she could do. For right now, the safest place for her was right where she was. She had no doubts that Mr. Gil Favor and his men would protect her. And as long as she was with them, she didn't have to walk or worry for food or shelter.

There was one problem, though. Mr. Rowdy Yates. Tall, good-looking, valiant and with a voice sweet as butter, he was definitely becoming a problem as she was becoming more and more enamored of him. He was everything a woman could want in a man. And despite her young age of 16, she was a woman, in every way but one.

Of course, Rowdy saw her as a kid and treated her that way. He didn't notice the longing looks she cast upon him and she doubted he ever would as long as they continued in the way they were. Riding along in the back of the wagon, unable to do anything but sit, Cat thought long and hard on the situation. Right then, there was nothing she could do but later, if they got rid of Fred, maybe she had a way of showing Rowdy just how mature she was.

They reached a river on the third night. After settling the cattle down on the river's edge and getting camp set up, Gil drew Rowdy to the side for a talk. "We'll be crossing that river in the morning. That's when we're going to be at our most vulnerable.."

"You think that Gates fella is still following, don't you?" Rowdy knew Gil Favor's way of thinking.

"I don't think. I know." Favor answered. "He knows the men with him aren't worth much in a fair fight, so he's probably going to wait til we're occupied with the cattle."

"That sure don't make a lick of sense, him following us all this way." Rowdy shook his head. "Just for a girl."

"She's more than just a girl to him." Favor snapped. "I don't know yet why, but he want's more out of her than just two years on a contract. Now as I see it, we can leave her here on the side of the river while we cross or we can set a few men up to wait for Gates while the rest of us get the herd across."

Rowdy nodded. "I'll get a couple of men and wait for Gates. You…"

"I'll say who does what." Favor's tone left no room for argument. "Rowdy, you get that herd across and keep em moving north. I'll keep Pete and Joe and we'll set up here to wait. We'll do our best to keep them occupied until you're across and then we'll follow."

"Boss…"

"You got that right." Gil cut him off. "I am the boss of this outfit and you will do what I tell you to. Understand?"

Rowdy dropped his head with a "Hmpf." He understood all right, but it didn't mean he had to like it. "Alright." He answered.

Early the next morning, Gil, Pete and Joe moved into some think undergrowth along the river's edge and settled down to wait while Wishbone and Mushy moved the wagons out and into the river, followed by Rowdy and the rest of the men, moving the herd in behind him.

As the wagon made it's way across, Cat peeked out of the back of the wagon at Rowdy as he sat tall in the saddle, giving orders and moving the men and cattle forward. She didn't know what was going to happen but she knew right then and there that if it came down to Rowdy's life or her going back with Gates, she'd go back, like it or not.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Rowdy kept the cattle moving along with the wagon and men but ever so often he turned back to scan the area behind him. He was certain that his boss, Gil Favor was right and Gates and his men would be attacking soon, but he couldn't figure out why they hadn't done it so far. They were about half way across the wide but shallow river now and still nothing. Turning back to look forward, Rowdy caught just a glimpse of something flashing in the early morning light. It looked a little like…

Rowdy swallowed, suddenly understanding. "Jesus!" He called to the young man who just happened to be closest to him. When Jesus neared, Rowdy gave him a message and sent him back to Gil Favor with it. Turning his horse to the right, he raced over to the wagon. "Wish, can you turn this wagon back?"

"Turn it back?" Wish frowned at him. "Sure I can if I want to turn it over. Rowdy, I got one direction in this thing and that's forward. Why? Why do you want me to turn around?"

"Cause there's a reception waiting for us on the other shore." Rowdy answered with a subtle nod to the far shore. "Tell you what, just keep the wagon here in the river for as long as you can. I'll see what we can do about interrupting the party before you get there."

"Be careful, Rowdy." Wish advised him as he watched the young ram rod race forward to several of the men and speak to them. He had an idea of what Rowdy was planning and just hoped it worked without getting any of the men or the cattle killed. "Whoa." Wish pulled up on the reins and held the wagon back while Rowdy went on.

Rowdy rode as swiftly as the water would allow him to each man at the back of the herd giving instructions and then steadily and quickly making his way forward to as many as possible. As soon as Rowdy spoke to as many men as he could he rode to the head of the herd and pulled his gun. "You in the bushes!" Rowdy called out in the direction of where he'd seen the sun glint off a rifle barrel. "You've got just a few minutes to throw those guns out and step out where we can see you or this herd is going to pound you into the dirt."

Rowdy raised his gun into the air, glancing behind him to see the first of the herd already arriving on the far shore. "Alright." He yelled when he saw no movement from the bushes. "You asked for it." He turned to the other cowboys who were watching him intently. "Let it rip!" He yelled.

Instantly the men began pushing the cattle as hard and fast as they could across the remaining stretch of water and up on the banks, directly towards the bushes where Rowdy was certain Gates and his men were waiting. Back on the side of the river, Gil, Pete and Joe's attention was directed towards Rowdy and what he was doing just as Jesus came riding up. "Mr. Favor." He gasped. "Rowdy, he said.."

"Mr. Favor?" Pete moved up close to him, interrupting Jesus. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I am." Gil confirmed. "Come on. We're on the wrong side."

Hurriedly, Gil and his employees ran to where they'd hidden their horses, mounted quickly and raced to the river.

Rowdy paid no attention to where his boss was. He had other concerns. He'd been right about Gates and his men and he could hear screaming coming from the area where he'd sent the cattle. "Turn em!" He began to yell just as Gil, Quince and Joe arrived by his side. "Turn em now!"

An hour later, the men had the cattle stopped and settled into a flat area just to the north of the river. While most of the men were taking care of them, Quince and a couple of others were busy digging graves for 4 men.

Wishbone was busy tending to two others who'd survived the stampede but were hurt. Fred Gates and another man were sitting by the wagon, hands and feet bound.

Gil & Rowdy were sitting quietly to the side, deciding what to do with Fred Gates and the men with him who hadn't died.

"Boss, I think we need to get them someplace where they can be put in jail." Rowdy declared. "If I hadn't of seen that rifle barrel sticking out in the sun, they would've killed as many of us as it took to get that girl back."

"I know." Gil answered. "I also know that there are no jails around here so that's not going to happen."

"Well, we can't keep em with us." Rowdy shook his head.

"I know that too." Gil said as he took a deep breath. "But…"

"Do you care what I think about it?" Cat approached the two men, her arms crossed against her chest.

"Well, of course." Rowdy answered. "But I'm sure we already know."

"You do?" Cat questioned.

"Well, yeah." Rowdy nodded. "You'd like to see them put in jail."

Cat shook her head. "You'd be wrong then, Rowdy. Seeing them in jail wouldn't solve anything, even if the law agreed to arrest them, I doubt they'd stay in there for too long. I mean, in the eyes of the law, they were just trying to get back their property. Me."

"Well," Gil shrugged as he joined in the conversation. "But you're not property."

"As long as Fred has a contract on me, I am." Cat responded. "Look, Mr. Favor, Rowdy, I'm not an expert on the law or nothing, but from what I understand, that contract is the same thing as a title on me with Fred Gates the owner of that title."

"It could be looked at that way." Gil agreed. He studied the young woman in front of him for a moment. "You've got an idea of what to do with those men, so why don't you tell us?"

Cat looked at both men seriously. "I think we should leave them here. One horse, one gun and enough food for two men for a couple of days. Your men caught three of Fred's horses so you won't even have to leave one of your own."

"But there's 4 men." Rowdy was trying to puzzle out her thinking but Gil already understood.

"Uh, huh." He nodded with a slight grin. "Two men hurt and two men who aren't. If Gates and that other doesn't kill the two injured ones, then it'll take em a while to get back to Broomville with only one horse. If they do kill em, the law will most likely catch up to em."

Cat smiled at him, happy that he understood her thinking.

"That just leaves one question." Gil looked at her. "What do we do with you?"

Cat dropped her head for a moment before finally looking back up at the two men. "You give me one of Fred's horses and hopefully enough food to last me for a few days and then let me go."

"Let you go?" Rowdy instantly shook his head no. "No, we can't do that."

"Why not?" She challenged. "I mean, I've pretty much been on my own for a while now and I know how to take care of myself."

"Really?" Rowdy shook his head. "Cat, if it hadn't'a been for us…"

"I would've figured something out." Cat quickly cut in. "Rowdy, Mr. Favor, both of you have said a girl has no business with a trail herd. So here's your chance to get rid of the girl."

Gil eyed her speculatively. "I guess it would be easier on us." He rubbed his chin. "And you."

Cat's eyes widened slightly. "Me?"

"Uh, huh." Gil nodded. "It must've been hard these last few days to hide, what ever it is you've been hiding."

Cat tilted her slightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Favor."

"Uh, huh." Gil replied again.

"Will one of you tell me what you're talking about?" Rowdy could see there some sort of unspoken conversation going on between these two but he wasn't sure exactly what it was about.

"I'm talking about you grabbing on of those horses over there." Gil waved towards Gates' horses that Jesus had managed to catch. "While I see to it that Wish fixes her a bag of supplies."

"What?" Rowdy protested as Cat grinned. "Boss…"

"You heard me." Gil growled. "Go get the lady a horse."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rowdy stood in the shade of the old oak by the river's edge and watched as Cat, with a final wave, kicked Fred Gates buckskin into gear and rode away. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. Although Cat was incredibly young and in some ways naïve, she was also incredibly mature for someone her due to the trials she'd already faced and overcome.

"She'll be alright." Gil said as he quietly stepped up next to him. "She's got more gumption than some of these cowboys here."

Rowdy nodded absently as he watched her disappear from sight. "Well, I don't disagree with that." Finally, he turned back to his boss. "You ever gonna tell me what you were talking about? I mean with her hiding something?"

Gil shrugged. "Nothing to tell. At least nothing more than we already know. The rest is just speculation and none of our business." He clamped a hand on Rowdy's shoulder. "Now come on. We got a herd to move."

Rowdy studied his employer for a moment before looking back to where Cat had left his sight. "Yeah." He sighed.

Cat rode for a good long stretch, until she was positive no one from the herd, or anyone else for that matter, could see her. Then reining in her horse, she pulled it to a stop and took a sip from the canteen, hanging from her saddle horn.

Taking one more look around, she reached into her small bag with a grin and pulled out a small cloth bundle. Opening it just a little, she looked down at the large roll of money tied up in the large handkerchief. It had been Fred's weekly take from the First Class. It included not only his profit from the watered down whiskey and stale beer but also his three quarters profit from the girls who entertained.

Cat knew the law wouldn't agree with her, but she didn't look upon it as stealing. Fred had taken more from her and other girls, than any amount of money could repay. But this money would go a long way in not only getting her established somewhere, where she could be her own boss, but also, in time, help others in her position.

Putting the bundle back, Cat took the reins and kicked her mount into a trot. The incident that started in Broomville was result in a good life for Cathleen and although, she knew now she wouldn't be able to start anything with Rowdy now, no telling what the future might hold.

END


End file.
